Shvan

Shvan, a Sanskrit word meaning a dog, finds repeated references in Vedic and later Hindu mythologies, and such references include the following:

• The bitch of Indra, an Indo-Aryan god, is named Sarama, and it is mentioned in the Rig Veda. Its offspring became the watch dog of Yama.

• Yudhishthira, one of the Pandavas, insisted that he be allowed to enter Svarga (the Heaven) with his Shvan. When both of them entered the heaven, the dog transformed itself into Yama.

• Deities like Rudra, Nirriti and Virabhadra are associated with dogs, and an epithet describing Rudra describes him as Shvapati, meaning "master of the dog".

• The Mahabharata speaks sometimes of a dog who was an attendant of Shiva in his aspect as Bhairava.

• Khandoba, a deity, is associated with a dog on which he rides.

• Dattatreya is associated with four dogs, considered to symbolize the four Vedas.

References

• Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dallapiccola